Safety and the Fluid Power Industry – it’s hard to keep a straight face! -
By Rory S. McLaren - Director
I was standing at my booth (Fluid Power Safety Institute™) at the recent CONNEXPO show in Las Vegas, and I watched as a gentleman sauntered by. He had almost passed the booth when he suddenly glanced up and noticed the sign across the top of the booth. He abruptly stopped and asked me why our organization wasn’t involved with the “hose standards committee.”
He turned out to be an executive from one of the largest U.S.-based mobile equipment machinery manufacturers in the world.
He asked me why I, the founder and director of the Fluid Power Safety Institute™, wasn’t a member of the prestigious hose standards committee alongside the biggest names in the hydraulic hose and connector manufacturing business – he didn’t realize that he just emptied the salt shaker into one of my most exposed wounds!
Having served on a number of committees, I have found most to be politically and/or socially motivated – and, of course, mis-directed, for a number of reasons.
| 1. |
I was politely asked to resign from an international equipment manufacturer’s hazard analysis committee because I was too “thorough.” Apparently my “thorough” analysis of their machine’s hydraulic systems exposed the company to unnecessary liability in the event of an accident with one of their products. They would have preferred me to "overlook" a few hazards! |
|
| 2. |
After serving two years on the advisory committee of a local technical college I was forced to resign because we made absolutely no headway. The majority of the committee members decided that there was no need for a hydraulics course because the local community "didn't need it." Ironically, every local newspaper advertisement for a technical job, e.g., diesel mechanic or plant technician, required applicants have hydraulics experience. I believe that we would have succeeded if at least half of the committee members had attended at least half of the meetings. |
| 3. |
After my first (and last) advisory meeting with a national technical school I was dismissed because when asked for my “advice” I explained that the hydraulics instructors were not properly qualified to teach hydraulics (I had spent time in their classrooms). Moreover, hydraulic safety was absent from both the curriculum and the lab activities. |
| 4. |
I was asked by a member of the American Society of Safety Engineers (A.S.S.E.) to join their organization because he believed that my participation would benefit the organization. However, my membership was short-lived. It turns out that they were more interested in my dues payments than they were with my enthusiasm and knowledge. I finally resigned out of protest because not even their president could extend the courtesy of answering my correspondence. |
| 5. |
Most technical committees are structured on the basis of “class” - you simply cannot join their elite ranks unless you have the acronym, “PHD,” “PE,” “MD,” MBA,” etc. attached to your title – yet they generally formulate the “rules of engagement ” for the work maintenance technicians do. More often than not they miss the point! |
The Society of Automotive Engineers (S.A.E.) is an outstanding example of a misdirected cause - with respect to hydraulic hoses and connectors. Years ago the SAE developed “bullet-proof” engineering standards for hydraulic hoses and connectors. It is my understanding that they, along with hydraulic hose and connector manufacturers, are reinvigorating the standards. Unfortunately, in the United States of America, this effort amounts to a “hill of beans.”
It is a well known fact that over 99% of hose and connector separation failures are caused by improper assembly practices – or, if you will, a lack of training. This begs the question; why spend 100% of the time solving 1% of the problem?
A chain is only as strong as its weakest link -
Regardless of how strong one engineers a hose or a connector, the ultimate strength of the assembly is determined by the deftness of the person who unites them.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of people who make these critical, and indeed life-sparing unions, have never been properly trained. The inevitable result; they are the root cause of 99% of the unexpected failures that occur everyday in plants, factories, construction sites, lumber yards, mines, etc., across America.
In an ironic sense, it’s actually humorous! Hose and connector standards committees are comprised of members of the largest hose and connector manufacturers in the world. Yet they are powerless - due, of course, to the impact it would have on their respective bottom lines – to make it mandatory for their own distribution networks to insure that the people who make their hose and connector assemblies are themselves properly trained.
I make it a point, whenever I have reason to visit a hose fabrication business, to ask the counter person what training he or she has in making hose assemblies. In 99% of the cases the answer is none – most learned by simply watching a colleague make one assembly; and that’s it! I have a standard follow-up question; have you ever made a mistake? Once again, the answer is usually; yes!
In addition, the vast majority of hose connector dealers do not test their assemblies because the test apparatus is too expensive, and too time-consuming.
I explained to the gentleman, that I have better things to do than sit on impotent committees that are either “out of touch with reality,” or have no interest in targeting problems that can actually save lives. His concluding remarks didn’t surprise me; “This is America. Making it mandatory for all persons who make hose assemblies to be properly trained and duly certified will never happen.” I rest my case!
|
WARNING - A HOSE CONNECTOR SEPARATION FAILURE IS AN ACCIDENT!
|
For all of you who purchase hydraulic hoses and assemblies from an outside source – regardless of who the manufacturer might be – the vast majority of the people who make hose assemblies are not properly trained; they make your product(s) by trial and error!
Their error, at the expense of a few days of training, could cost you dearly in the form of an accident, which could lead to severe injury, death, or substantial property damage.
I encourage you to put your supplier on notice to the effect that any hose failure in your plant will be investigated as an accident - which, let’s face facts, it is. When you complete your internal investigation have their management conduct their own investigation. If they are at fault proceed with a lawsuit. Their lust for profit might have cost you, or one of your employees, their life!
Bear in mind that the most common reason why the hose and connector manufacturers don’t enforce training is solely due to the impact it would have on their respective “bottom lines.”
In the case of their distribution networks, their most common excuse for not training their counter sales personnel, in addition to cost, is that trained people will seek employment elsewhere! Other common excuses are; too busy, too slow; or, the people are “too stupid” to learn!
This blatant ignorance is what is driving our country back into the dark ages!
After a hose-end separation failure cost a coal miner his life, the “best practices” recommendations failed to address a critical component of prevention:
“There is every possibility that the person who made the high-pressure hose assembly wasn’t properly trained. Accordingly, all high-pressure hoses should be guarded or secured to prevent whipping; located to minimize exposure; have safety chains or suitable locking devices; and minimize connection points. |
It is our belief, at the FPSI™, that if hose failures, due in most part to ignorance, were required to be reported as “near-miss” accidents, they would be at epidemic levels in the U.S. However, the fluid power industry has positioned itself in such a manner that it evades the radar screen with respect to safety.
Remember OSHA, MSHA, et al, look the other way with respect to safety in the fluid power industry. The fact that less than 1% of citations issued by these organizations are due to unsafe hydraulic systems and components should never be used to reflect the current appalling state of safety in the industry.
|
“Fluid power safety doesn’t just happen, it has to be pursued."
The Fluid Power Safety Institute™ presents “safety-based” hydraulic workshops on a regular basis. You can find our training schedule at www.fpti.org
Rory S. McLaren
Founder/Director
Fluid Power Safety Institute™
The Fluid Power Safety Institute™ welcomes constructive dialogue regarding our safety bulletins. Your comments are welcome.
